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Can We Fight Drug-Resistant Bacteria With Non-Antibiotic Drugs? (economist.com)
Slashdot reader Bruce66423 shares what researchers learned by studying the effect of drugs on bacteria in the gut:
The research reveals that it's not just antibiotics that have the effect of causing resistance to antibiotics. "Of the drugs in the study, 156 were antibacterials (144 antibiotics and 12 antiseptics). But a further 835, such as painkillers and blood-pressure pills, were not intended to harm bacteria. Yet almost a quarter (203) did....
"However, Dr Maier's study also brings some good news for the fight against antimicrobial resistance. Some strains she looked at which were resistant to antibiotics nevertheless succumbed to one or more of the non-antibiotic drugs thrown at them. This could be a starting point for the development of new antimicrobial agents which would eliminate bacteria that have proved intractable to other means."
Every drug the researchers tested has already been approved for human use -- which means they could all eventually be used as a second wave of antibiotics.
"However, Dr Maier's study also brings some good news for the fight against antimicrobial resistance. Some strains she looked at which were resistant to antibiotics nevertheless succumbed to one or more of the non-antibiotic drugs thrown at them. This could be a starting point for the development of new antimicrobial agents which would eliminate bacteria that have proved intractable to other means."
Every drug the researchers tested has already been approved for human use -- which means they could all eventually be used as a second wave of antibiotics.
It's not that the antidepressants directly harm bacteria. It's just it makes a lot of depressed bacteria feel capable enough to go ahead and commit suicide.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
Actually, the summary and particularly the title are pretty misleading here.
What the research shows is that non-antimicrobial drugs contribute to the development of antimicrobial resistance. The bit about using these drugs as starting points for developing novel antimicrobials is an idea for further research.
This is a typical news media practice: give what appears to be good news equal weight to the bad news, thus producing "balance". As a result people come away with the wrong impression.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
An "antibiotic" is "a medicine that inhibits the growth of or destroys microorganisms".
So if it inhibits or destroys bacteria, it's an antibiotic, whether you traditionally think of it as one or not.
A better article title would have been something like: "Some existing medicines used for other conditions are found to act as antibiotics". Boring but less misleading.
Where are we going and why are we in a handbasket?